LEXINGTON, Va. - The second-ranked Washington and Lee University women's lacrosse team will face Capital in the second round of the NCAA tournament at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon; the gates at Watt Field will open at noon for spectators.

The Comets (11-4) advanced past Transylvania with a 21-11 win on Saturday on Watt's first round contest. To make its way into the NCAA tournament, CU claimed the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and automatic bid in a 20-17 win over Mount Union last weekend. Sunday's matchup will be the first against a nationally-ranked opponent for the Comets this season. 

The No. 2 Generals are 18-1 overall this season and earned the ODAC's automatic qualifier into the DIII tournament after a 16-9 win over No. 16 Roanoke seven days ago to increase the title count to 23 ODAC championships in program history. Sunday's contest marks the Blue and White's 13th consecutive and 21st overall NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament appearance.

The Generals are loaded with talent and depth across all positions including four players with 30+ goals this season. Rookie head coach, Maddie Coleman, who was just named ODAC Coach of the Year, leads the squad with a league-most nine All-ODAC honorees and four USA Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans as announced earlier in the week. 

W&L IN BRIEF

The Generals' attack is led by senior Allie Schwab (Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Harriton) and junior Hanna Bishop (Bronxville, N.Y. / Bronxville). Schwab, the ODAC Offensive Player of the Year has recorded 33 goals and 25 helpers for 58 points through 19 games, she's also added 16 groundballs, eight caused turnovers and three draw controls. Bishop leads the team in goals and points with 58 scores and 16 assists for 74 points. During the ODAC Tournament semifinal game, Schwab became the second player in Blue and White history to exceed the century milestone in both goals and assists and the pair can be found scattered throughout the program's all-time lists in points, goals and assists in both career and season ranks. 

The midfield is charged by New Jersey duo Jenny Lisovicz (Glen Ridge, N.J. / Glen Ridge) and Shannon Timoney (Mendham, N.J. / West Morris Mendham), the pair has a strong impact on both sides of the restraining line with a combined 56 goals and 26 assists on the offensive end. Defensively, Lisovicz and Timoney have forced opponents into turnovers on 27 and 23 occasions, respectively, and  combined for 54 groundballs, a majority of which are loose rebounds inside the 8-meter arc.

Timoney, who lines up on the circle, has the third-most draw controls for the Generals with 61 and Cat Caples (Reistertown, Md. / St. Paul's School for Girls) has recorded 69 draw controls from the center line. 

ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-America honoree, Eugenie Rovegno (Duxbury, Mass. / Duxbury) has collected a team-best 83 draw controls, 46 groundballs and 33 caused turnovers for the back line. The Blue and White defense is ranked top-10 in the division in clearing (91.5 percent), scoring defense, and scoring margin (+202). W&L allows just 5.79 goals per game and a 35.1 shooting percentage; opponents average 16.5 shots per game compared to the Blue and White's 31.6 mark. 

All four of the starters on defense (seniors Caroline Wise, and Sam Van Belle and juniors Allie Doyle and Rovegno) have collected all-conference recognition throughout their career. Along with the transition defense, the Generals have caused a total of 209 turnovers and limited opponents to a clearing percentage of .738 (234-317); in the 25 woman-up opportunities W&L opponents had, the defense only conceded seven woman-up goals. 

Starting goalkeeper, Caroline Kranich (State College, Pa. / Mercersburg) led the league in win percentage (0.947), goals-against average (6.74) and save percentage (0.492). Kranich was named First Team All-ODAC and Honorable Mention All-America by USA Lacrosse Magazine last week. 

CAPITAL BY THE NUMBERS

Grace Osborn (#4) leads the Comets' attack with a Division III-most 108 goals and 28 assists for 136 points and Julia Foresi (#11) sets up a large portion of Capital's offensive game with 58 assists along with 26 goals for 84 points; Luci Kanowsky (#12) will also be a player to watch for W&L's defense with 61 goals on the season. CU is averaging 18 goals and 35.9 shots per game. Osborn and Foresi are two-way midfielders and have 113 and 100 draw controls this year, respectively, and will look to compete against a strong Generals' draw circle contingent on Sunday. 

A pair of goalies split time for Capital in Emily Serafinchon (#30), who started the matchup against Transylvania, and Meg Garcia (#44) who came into the contest to play the second half. Defensively, the team averages 12.80 goals against per game and the duo in cage have a save percentage of 42.2 percent.

Capital opponents usually win the 50-50 groundballs, 296-257, however the Comets own a 307-203 edge on the draw circle. Capital has registered 279 turnovers, caused 143 and has a clearing rate of 73.4 percent (204-278).

UP NEXT

The winners of Sunday's game will advance to the NCAA third round and play the winners of No. 9 Gettysburg vs No. 24 Christopher Newport . To view the complete 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament bracket, click here.